


gold plated.

by h4nnzie



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Fantasy, Friends to Lovers, Illusions, Magic, Male-Female Friendship, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating, POV Multiple, Science Fiction, Shapeshifting, Strangers to Lovers, Title Subject to Change, personality-based powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2020-09-08 02:51:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20287135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/h4nnzie/pseuds/h4nnzie
Summary: Lucy was made to think she was ordinary for the entirety of her life until now.Follow the self-discovery and adventures of these other-worldly beings as they conquer the corrupt, supreme Golden Empire.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this has been a long time in the works so I hope you enjoy!

**LUCY**

All I feel is fire. Licking the walls of my insides. Pain creeps in, adding to a mad inferno of… something.

What the fuck just happened.

Guilt floods from the pit of my stomach as I recall all-too-quickly the moments leading up to this. I’m suddenly ice cold, and my eyes aren’t even open yet.

I remember.

I hear Hugo shout something in his usual sarcastic, ‘you dumb bitch’ tone I’ve learned to tune out. I put up with him. (Just). He’s a good friend, just a whole fucking handful. I can see he’s smiling though, which means it means nothing. He’s talking to Christopher, my other friend, who just smiles, no teeth, content, feeling most likely the same as me.

“Why are you smiling poo-brain, you’re supposed to profess your eternal hatred for me! Why, does this shit turn you on huh?” Hugo and Christopher have had some ongoing feud, God knows why. They’re arguably closer to each other than I am to either of them.

“How can I be even a smidge pissed when we’re here? My favourite place in the world.”

“You’re too much ‘pher honestly it's just a theme park! We come every year.”

That’s when I interrupt, “Oi, you know full-well that this place is worth waiting every year for.”  
I punch Hugo in the shoulder for good measure. He’s still smiling, not putting his ‘I’m better than you’ façade up very well. Which is understandable, we’re at Star Lake Park, collectively our favourite place, as Christopher said, in the world. (as lame as it seems.)

Star Lake Park is a theme-park we visit each year, it sits practically in the middle of nowhere but as soon we first discovered it, we vowed to come back every year. We’ve stuck to that vow and this year is our 5th time visiting.

The park itself is built on an old heritage site; many say it was an old convent, others say an elite school for those with ‘special powers’. I call bullshit on the latter, but Hugo seems somewhat convinced. He has a whole conspiracy theory worked out. Christopher just goes along with him as always.

We’re nearing the entrance to the park when I catch sight of the first ride. I grab hold of Christopher’s hand and Hugo’s wrist, “Come on! Let's go on as much as we can…”

“Till our stomachs can’t take it any longer!” Hugo and I say in unison, breaking my grip to high five each other.

I turn to Christopher, “Hey, why don’t we go on the TreeTop Train to start things off easily since you need some time to get used to the adrenaline.”

I watch his face drain of colour and his hand go clammy as he removes it from mine, he looks down as he wrings his hands together.

“Come oon ‘Pher, I know you don’t have the best relationship with adrenaline, but you’ve never had a problem with literally the most mundane ride in the park.” Hugo placed a hand on Christopher’s shoulder (he can't handle either of us being in a bad mood, despite how much he hates to admit it).

“I know, I just think that… maybe we should skip this one,” Christopher shrugs Hugo’s hand away.

“What the f- you know what, if you’re gonna get moody all of a sudden, we’ll leave you here while Lucy and I ride without you.” Hugo grabs my wrist and drags me away, without much effort, since I want to ride too. However I still look back at Christopher apologetically, he still looks extremely worried.

“Hey! Uh, I’ll come.” Christopher stutters, almost too quiet to not hear.

“Hey! I knew you’d come to your senses you dumb pussy!” Hugo jogs up to Christopher and slings an arm around his shoulder.

“Let’s go!”

Christopher still looks too nervous for a kiddy ride, but at least he seems to have cheered up a little.

The carts are arranged in fours, a pair in front and a pair behind. Hugo and Christopher take the rear and I sit at the front next to a crow-haired stranger who seems around our age, so I give him a smile.

“Hey!” the boy chirps and waves at me. His smile is so wide, it almost looks like a sneer.

We don’t speak again as the ride begins for a few seconds, as normal.

“See ‘pher! There was no point in being worr-” The ride jolts as Hugo speaks. I abruptly begin to feel warmth course through my body, tingling at my fingertips. Must be adrenaline.

“I knew it…” Christopher mumbles. I look back at Hugo, we both share a confused glance before Hugo speaks up again:

“As I was saying, there’s nothing to worry about. I’m sure the ride only jolted since the tracks are old.”

“Yeah! This was one of the first rides ever built here. We’ll be fine.” I add. I hear a sharp intake of breath come from beside me, followed by muttering. _Is he laughing?_

I tense up a little bit but snap out of it almost immediately.

The heat’s building up.

The ride continues as normal: the train climbs steadily to a height of about 6 metres. Then stops.

It’s not supposed to stop here.

“What in the bloody world was that.” Hugo profaned, clinging on to Christopher. The latter’s face limp, devoid of colour. He’s terrified.

The ride jolts again, making the ride shake violently in all directions without a single breeze in the air. I black out for a second then feel the ride go from horizontal to completely vertical.

Due to the obvious lack of safety precautions (because this is a fucking kids ride after all) I lose my grip. My vision goes blurry and fades to black once again. My body is fire until I hit cold, hard concrete. My eyes clench shut.

**XIUHAO**

For the first time, I hear screams of unfiltered terror. Not only that but from a **kiddy rollercoaster.** I emergency stop the ride I’m working on and sprint in the direction of TreeTop Train. Before my lungs give out, I catch sight of someone on the floor. I see she’s unconscious but breathing as I approach her, she doesn’t seem to be having a seizure or begin choking so I do what most first-aiders wouldn’t do: I lug her on my back to the infirmary, despite ironically not really being welcome there. (I think the nurse is jealous of my skill, knowing Mandarin spells as well as English. Bit prejudiced if you ask me.)

One of the only buildings kept for its purpose from the convent was the infirmary. The building was refurbished when they built the park, and oh boy is it one of my favourite places. The inside walls and high ceilings, adorning carvings of religious patterns and imagery, are all painted white, with the odd splash of colour on the imagery on the ceiling. Everything was re-enhanced and made to look even more heavenly than before. The beds are lined up in columns, the white of the bedsheets adding to the pure aesthetic of the place. One thing that constantly baffled me, however, was the need for such a big infirmary in a theme park. There are even separate rooms for goodness knows what.

However, to stay away from the nurse that gets oddly pissed off whenever I visit the infirmary, I slip into one of the secluded rooms, and lay the unconscious girl on the bed. 

As I examine her body, I simultaneously become more confused and awestruck. A fall from that height in any regular human’s case would have been fatal; she only has a few grazes, and is just knocked out from the impact, but not great force. She could wake up easily without magic, but I decide to spell her anyway, just to make sure there aren’t any internal injuries. And there wasn’t.

I count down until she wakes up and wait in complete curiosity.

“Wh- WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY F-”

“SSH, you’re okay I took you to the park’s infirmary, I’m a nurse here” I’m not, but she wouldn’t have calmed down otherwise I bet, “I believe you fell off the TreeTop Train.” Those words felt foreign in my mouth.

“But…”

“You’re okay, somehow you managed to only have a few scrapes and bruises. How on earth did you manage to fall from that height and be in such good condition? What are y-”

“Dude, I don’t know what the fuck your problem is, but I’ve just endured something traumatising and my friends… wait where are my friends?” Her breathing starts quickening and she sits up, I steady her by placing my hands on her shoulders. I can feel her magic rush to her skin. It’s warm and thick.

“Hey, stay here, you’ve had quite the fall, I don’t want you to hurt yourself more.”

Her eyebrows attach together as she slouches, still sitting up. I rub her shoulder, taking a less ‘curious asshole’ approach.

“I don’t know what’s just happened but I’m sure your friends are okay.” She looks up, glassy-eyed, the glint of light revealing her one brown and one golden eye. _She can’t be…_

“Woah your eyes are so cool!”

She’s still frowning as she mutters: “Thanks, the doctor told me I have some rare form of heterochromia.”

I’m almost completely certain it’s not just heterochromia. Hasn’t she been told? Surely any magician suspected to have this kind of ability would be kept away from earth, let alone be **told** they have this sort of immense power. I mean, I’m not too sure, I’ve never actually _met _someone like her before. She’s probably not divine, she might just be a human with an extremely rare case.

I feel a sudden surge of warmth as if a fire’s been lit right beside me. She’s standing and sprinting out the door.

So she’s definitely _magic_ at least.

“Hey!” I try using a basic speed spell- although all magician’s on earth have specific abilities, we can also cast very common spells; their effectivity dependant on your specific skill- and it works, letting me catch up to her slightly. But even with the spell, she keeps her distance. I catch a glimpse of her ankle. It’s glowing bright gold.

I’m almost coughing my lungs out by the time she stops. Right at the site of her fall. I stay a decent distance away from her and watch.

“Hugo! Christopher!” She wails, her voice hoarse and distorted with sobs. A small silence follows before a small, straw-coloured haired boy appears from behind the coaster operating hut: he’s carrying another boy on his back; white-haired, lanky, clearly unconscious. I step forward at the sight but hesitate as I watch Lucy run over and hug the conscious one.

“Lucy, thank fuck you’re okay,” That must be the girl’s name.

“Hugo, is Christopher okay?”

“I’m not sure, he’s breathing, but completely out.” The small boy- Hugo -explained, worn out and breathless.

I decide to walk over and offer to help.

Hugo edges away from me and turns to Lucy, “Who is this guy?”

“He took me away to the infirmary when I fell, but he’s super weird. I say we don’t trust him.”

“But, Lucy, look how high you fell! Surely if he helped you this well, he can maybe help ‘pher.”

I speak up, “Hey, Hugo is it?” He nods, “Let me take care of your friend, you look exhausted.” I smile apologetically and Hugo shifts to take Christopher off his back.

“Hugo-”

“Look, Lucy, I know we barely know this dude but he’s the best chance we have at good help. There are no hospitals nearby an I don’t want to put his condition at risk.”

“Trust me, I want to help.” I pick Christopher up and support his head. They ought to have more stretchers on-site, “Follow me.”

I cast a hovering spell to remain as steady as possible before I hear a sharp gasp,

“What in the flying fu-” Hugo curses

“Hey! Let him go you creep!” Lucy shouts shakily.

Have they never even _seen _magic before?

I’m too confused to comprehend Lucy and Hugo’s situation, so I fly off to the infirmary. There’s no time to explain the whole world of Mages while someone’s life is in my hands.

Despite this risky move, they run after me.

After their friend lying in my arms.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took waaay longer than expected to get out, but here's chapter 2 nonetheless!

**Ch.2**

**VIDALIA**

My beloved, I can feel you waking up.

Finally.

**HUGO**

Too much is happening. This fool is _floating _away with my friend, Lucy found me, I _lived?_

I have to trust this guy, we’re literally in the middle of nowhere, the sun is setting, and the park has been evacuated. We’re the only ones here. And I want to trust him, I don’t know why, but I have this gut feeling that I do.

I just want Christopher to be okay; I’ll take any help we can get.

I just about catch up with Lucy and the guy when they reach a giant fuck-off building that looks like a church. I’ve never seen a building like it, but it must have always been here- I’ve just never noticed.

It seems as though I’m a lot calmer as soon as I step in: the place is pretty much all-white inside, with a couple of wooden touches from the bedframes. There’s a lot of beds too- why? Surely not many people get so badly hurt at a theme park to stay the night. The thought makes me shudder as if something terribly wrong has happened here before. Or is about to.

_Stop overthinking Hugo._

“Oi Hugo, over here!” Lucy shouts. I can’t speak; this running has made my throat too dry to even utter a word without feeling like puking. I walk over to the bed where she’s sat, she looks like she’s about to explode.

She lurches over to the weirdo

“If you don’t get the fuck away from m-” I grab her wrist,

“There’s no time,” I croak, “please can we just let him help.” I can't bring myself to say anything else, so I pull Lucy on to the bed next to where Christopher is being laid down.

_Please be okay._

“Hugo, what-”

“I don’t want to hear it; you know this is the only help we can get.”

“He’s right, there’s no help for miles, and he’s in critical condition. This is going to be a lot to take in but please, I swear I have no interest in hurting your friend further. Just trust me please.” The guy speaks up. He seems earnest enough, although I’m scared as to what he means by ‘this is going to be a lot to take in’. I nod and look at Lucy, hesitantly she gives in and nods too.

Then I realise.

He’s spewing some language I can’t understand while this blue stream of light pours from his fingertips, I’ve never seen anything like it. And it seems to be working; I can see pink dancing on Christopher’s cheeks again. No medical equipment even looked at.

“Hugo what the f-” Lucy whispers, she trails off to pay attention to the spectacle. I feel the same as her: what in Christ's name are we watching.

And just like that, the guy steps back and pauses, examining Christopher’s body with a mixture of puzzlement and contentment about his face, then walks over to us.

He plants himself next to me and holds his hand out; before he even gets a chance to introduce himself Lucy reaches his hand past me and swats his hand away.

“Lucy-”

“No, I don’t want to stall any longer,” She turns to the guy, “Tell us exactly who, or what, you are and what you mean here.”

“I understand, you must have a shit load of questions. My name is Xiuhao. I literally work here. I mean, technically I’m a ride operator, not a nurse, but if the nurses actually acknowledged my abilities and not be fucking racist, I would probably be.”

“A-abilities?” I butt in. What the fuck is he talking about?

“You mean to tell me you looked after me after that fall and you aren’t even medically trained? And you have _nurses_ on-site? What even happens here for the park to need nurses?!” Lucy shouts.

“I don’t know either! There’s probably some reason they keep me away from here! Sorry, I’m rambling.” He sighs, “I don’t exactly know how I’m supposed to tell this to you, clearly since you aren’t aware of this, but to put it straight, I’m a magician, a wizard, or whatever you want to call it, and you seem to be too.”

I’m stunned. I have hundreds of questions, but I’m too worried to get excited.

“What?!” Lucy stands up, “You expect us to believe this bullshit? I’ve never seen you here before in my l-”

“Lucy, did you not just see that… I think it’s pretty believable.” I snap.

Xiuhao inhales deeply, “You don’t have to believe anything that comes out my mouth right now, but I want to tell you that magic is very much a reality within my and your lives. Whether you like it or not.”

**XIUHAO**

Hugo looks at me with the whites of his eyes around his iris exposed, Lucy looks like she’s been hit with a truck.

I try to explain further: “Back there, when you saw me take your friend away, my spell should have been masked to make it seem like I was just sprinting, but judging by your reactions you could-”

“How could we not ignore you _flying_!” Lucy exclaims, Hugo nudges her and looks back to me.

“I wasn’t sure, but I had a hunch you must be magicians, so I didn’t conceal myself when healing your friend here. Magic that powerful would have blinded you if I wasn’t careful, but my hunch was correct.”

“So, how exactly does this _magic _stuff work?” Hugo asks without hesitation; I can sense a glimmer of excitement in his voice- I thank The Empress he’s not as taken aback as Lucy.

“Us magic users have strong abilities based on our personality, so as we change and grow, our magic grows with us. If we grow positively, with happiness, respect and acceptance of positive changes, we gain true power: abilities that contribute positively to our magickal community such as speed, strength, healing and nature manipulation. If we grow up closed-minded, without respect and happiness, you can develop dark power: abilities that contribute to the want to destroy the magickal community. Like us, if our attitudes change for the better or worse, our power can shift and switch, but this becomes harder with age since our views become more concrete as we get older. We also all have the ability to cast simple spells such as floating which increases your speed plus basic attack and defence ones.”

“What’s your ability?” Lucy asks, still clearly sceptical.

“I’ve always been the caring, hyperempathetic type, so I’m a healer as you clearly saw there. Magic can also depend on what languages you speak; I’ve recently discovered that my mother-language, Mandarin, has great power when it comes to healing. English also has great properties when it comes to nature and teleportation.”

“What about us?” Hugo asks

“I’m not sure,” I pause, “Since this is news to you it seems as though you may need some time to discover your abilities. However, I can tell your friend here is very powerful. You see this eye on his chest? That’s a rune which means he can predict possibilities of futures.” They both look at each other, stunned and perhaps slightly guilty? I avoid telling Lucy about the possibility of her being a Golden Mage, I’m still not sure as of yet. I’ve never actually _known_ of a Golden on earth, “I would offer my help, but this is your decision. In the time being, I’d suggest staying here to wait for your friend to wake up. I’ve done as much as I can using my power, we need to let him heal naturally now.”

“How long will it take?” Hugo’s face immediately turns into one of worry. Those two must be incredibly close.

“At least overnight. You might want to stay here with him.”

Hugo turns to Lucy.

“Fine.” She exhales.

Hugo turns back to me and nods, “We won't get kicked out in the morning, right?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll check the park’s twitter. They might have posted a notice.”

I pull up a post and quickly see the park manager has decided to close the park for a _week._ Christ, I hope things are okay.

“You’ll be fine, they’re closing for a week”

“A _week?_ Surely that’s too long. What’s going on?” Lucy interrogates, she’s still hot-tempered.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure if they’ve locked the place either. You guys may be stuck here a week.”

Lucy sighs heavily and puts her head in her hands:

“I’m too tired for this.”

“How about we just take things one step at a time. I understand this is super overwhelming to take in.” I reassure her.

“Yeah, let's just stay the night and figure this out slowly. I don’t think my brain can take any more. As much as I’m interested.” Hugo chips in.

**LUCY**

Confused doesn’t even begin to cover the absolute state I’m in. Christopher’s unconscious, I’m stuck in a giant, cold infirmary with no signal and a best friend who’s acting like an entirely different person. Hugo? Quiet? Worried about Christopher? Madness. I could ask for the Wi-Fi password but that would make me look more like an entitled, annoying arse than I’ve already made myself look like. I’m just stubborn. And very, very cautious.

I’m past caring at this point, I just need to know Christopher will be okay and these infirmary beds are too comfy to pass up on- not that I plan on sleeping. Plus Xiuhao has gone to try and fix the heating.

I’m sat opposite from Hugo on the same bed,

“Do you reckon we can trust him?” Hugo asks me.

“Heating’s on!” Xiuhao smiles.

I turn back to Hugo, “I mean, so far he hasn’t tried to kill us, or perhaps curse us so, he’s not too bad?” I pause, “I’m not too sure yet. But we need to stay here for ‘pher. After he wakes up, we’re leaving.”

“But what abou-” Hugo starts.

“No buts,” I snap, “I never want to see this place again.”

“I understand this is a lot to take in Lucy, but I want to know everything that happened. I need to know what happened to us, to Christopher. I need to know what our abilities are.” Hugo whispers: Xiuhao was getting closer.

“Don’t you realise he’s probably making this shit up? This kind of stuff is made up for teen fiction. It’s not real.”

“Lucy, don’t tell me you didn’t see him do that to Christopher? We saw that with our _own eyes_. And you still deny it?” Hugo pauses then turns to where Xiuhao is walking over, “Ay Xiuhao, do that floaty thing again!”

I sigh, does he _really _think- oh shit Xiuhao is flying.

Flying.

Xiuhao hovers the rest of the distance over to us.

“Believe it’s real now?” Xiuhao grins, Hugo's completely starstruck. I’m still wary so I huff and move on to another bed.

I watch as Xiuhao and Hugo excitably talk about spells and magic. I’m getting a headache, how can Hugo trust him so easily? I don’t know why I’m so angry, I guess my stranger anxiety is just being set off. I hate when strangers are friendly, it always has such an odd, creepy undertone to it. Or maybe it was because I’m an orphan; I’ve grown up around strangers my entire life, so as soon as I was adopted, I became clingy. My adoptive parents are the best people I could have asked for, so moving down here for boarding school was a nightmare. I couldn’t open up to anyone for weeks. I’m in university now and things are getting better, probably because I’ve kept my closest friends with me. But I’m still just as bad around new strangers, and this situation is probably one of the worst I’ve been in: as soon as Xiuhao took Christopher, I thought he was trying to abduct him.

Perhaps I have defensive magic.

Fuck, I have magic?

I put my focus back on Hugo and Xiuhao and I hear Hugo speak:

“Yo you have to teach me how to do that.”

I watch as Xiuhao explains how to cast the spell, and in no time, Hugo’s sat hovering above the bed, still cross-legged. I watch in awe, my jaw dropped. I walk up to them.

“You better not have messed with him.”

“Lucy, relax, it’s one of the simplest abilities we all have.”

_We._ I’m still not used to this.

I watch as the light through the huge glass windows goes from gold to a cool grey. It’s getting dark and I’m struggling to keep my eyes open. I originally wanted to stay up all night- to make sure Xiuhao wouldn’t pull a trick on us overnight, but seeing Hugo now fast asleep, curled up in the bed, I couldn’t resist. I walk around Christopher’s bed and sit on the one next to his, Hugo and I now either side of him.

…

“Ignorance may be a safe option for you now, but this is only the beginning.”

I immediately shoot up, opening my eyes. I’ve slept; it’s pitch black outside and the moonlight is beaming in through the windows on the other side of the room. I turn my phone torch on and look around the open space. Nobody.

I get up, carefully not to wake Hugo, and look in what seems to be some private bedrooms. Oh, this was where Xiuhao took me.

I check all the places, there’s nobody there. I don’t want to shout since it’s the middle of the night; Hugo and Xiuhao are passed out asleep. Perhaps it was just a dream? It was incredibly vivid though- as if someone was whispering it right into my ear.

I climb back into my bed and begin to breathe heavily to try and calm myself down.

“It’s okay, no one’s here.” I whisper under my breath to reassure myself.

I hear a rustle come from the bed next to mine.

“Lucy?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks again for waiting lmao, hope you liked the chapter! 
> 
> feedback and kudos are greatly appreciated <3


	3. Chapter 3

**LUCY:**

**  
**“Christopher!” I shout-whisper

Watching Christopher slowly sit up from his bed, I immediately dash over and assist him up; he still looks extremely weak. I support his back and head as he shuffles upright and as soon as he’s awake, I pull him into a secure hug, hands still on his head and his back. I feel a tear run down my cheek as I press it up against his neck.

“I thought we’d lost you,” I don’t want to say anything else; as much as I’m confused, God forbid I overwhelm Christopher further with all the information I’ve been given in the past few hours. I feel Christopher’s hand press against my lower back as they hang weakly in an attempt to hug me back as I pull away from the hug.

“Where am I?” Christopher croaks.

“The infirmary at the theme park.”

“I never knew they had this here,”

“Me neither. We should get out of here as soon as possible.” Christopher’s face drops as I tell him this, “I mean of course when you’re fully recovered. It seems as though you fell from quite a hei-”

“’Pher!”

Christopher gasps: “Hugo.”

Hugo comes bounding over and hugs Christopher so tight from the other side of the bed I let go.

“Jesus fuck thank God you’re okay,” Hugo whispers through a sharp exhale, hugging Chris even tighter. Christopher lets out a breathy laugh; he still sounds hoarse.

“Careful, Hugo.” I say out of caution.

When Hugo pulls out of his embrace, I can see tears glistening as they build up in his eyes. His hands move up to cradle Chris’ head in them tentatively. I’d never seen Hugo be so affectionate before, but I guess this is a situation like no other.

“How are you feeling?” Hugo sniffles and reaches up to touch Christopher’s forehead. I reach out for Christopher’s hand to let him know I’m asking the same question.

“I-I’m not sure, from what happened, I should have died from that height! Hell, Hugo how did you survive?”

“I have as much knowledge as you! The only possibility I can think of is absurd, I’m still not sure it’s even true.” Hugo rants through sobs, Christopher wiping the tears tumbling down the former’s cheeks.

Christopher turned to me, “Who healed me?”

“Hmm?” I reply _healed? _“Oh, it was this guy that works here, I’m not sure we can trust him though, I think he’s loopy.”

“What do you mean?” A hint of concern is laced in Chris’ tone.

“Well, he was genuinely dead serious about magic being real? He started doing this weird shit in an attempt to heal you? I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. We were probably put on drugs or some shit.” I’m still in denial.

Christopher goes still, his face drops into his hands.

“Shit.” I hear him mumble under his breath, into his hands.

“What is it ‘Pher?” Hugo sobs again, trying to lift Chris’ head up so he can face him.

“You weren’t supposed to see,” Christopher says, panicked, under his breath. "I was supposed to hide this from you." _What? _

“What do you mean?” Hugo beats me to asking the same thing.

“Fuck.” Christopher takes a long pause before deeply sighing, “Well you might want to brace yourselves for this.”

Hugo and I look at each other and wait for Christopher to speak.

“He’s not loopy. He’s right.”

“What?” I can feel my eyelids tensing.

“He’s right about magic.” I feel my stomach drop. How could I not know something like this? And why has Christopher kept me from knowing this the entire lifetime we’ve been friends? I feel betrayed but I compose myself, I have to remind myself of the state Christopher’s in.

“So you really can tell the future?” Hugo pipes up.

“Only possibilities- God, how much did he tell you?”

“So, you’re magic, magic is actually real?” I ask.

“Yes, I told you already. It’s not just witches and wizards. I’m what they call an Oracle.” Christopher replies.

‘Oracle.’ I mouth silently in curiosity; I feel my stomach lurch with the unfamiliarity.

“Yup, I have clairvoyant powers.”

_Clairvoyance? _This is becoming overwhelming.

Christopher turns to look at Hugo and me in turn “I know you won’t want to hear this, but you’re a magician too Lucy. Hugo, I’m not so sure but there’s something different about you too.” Hugo grimaces slightly but quickly goes back to his careful expression, clearly caring more about Christopher’s condition than himself at this moment.

I want to feel the same too, but I can't help but feel irritated. How could he have hidden something like this from us! My whole life up to now I’ve believed I was an orphan and we just grew up together. That was all it had to be, but it isn’t now…? I’ve been lied to this whole time about my own identity?

I can feel my grip tighten on the bedsheets I’m sat on.

“Look, Lucy, I’m so sorry you had to find out like this, but trust me, I didn’t want to keep it this way. It’s a long story and I don’t want to overwhelm you further right now. I will tell you later I promise.” Christopher must have noticed my puzzlement.

“I-” I try to butt in, to snap, but Hugo hits me on the arm. When he turns to me, the light hits his face and I can see that he’s still crying.

“Lucy, just, please, just take this one step at a time. Christopher is hurt, let’s just- please we can talk about that later.” I immediately clock out of my anger at Hugo’s words and realise how _selfish_ I’m being. I stop thinking at Hugo’s request and reach out to rub Christopher’s arm.

Hugo turns back to Christopher, “How are you feeling? Does anywhere hurt?” He asks in such a genuinely worried and pained way; he doesn’t sound like himself.

“I mean, it just feels like there are a few bruises near my stomach, nothing major. But I still don’t want to move too much.” Christopher seems surprised, “Hugo, may I ask who healed me again?”

“His name is Xiuhao, he’s still here.”

“Can you bring him to me, I wanna talk to him.”

I try not to protest, as much as I want to. I watch in confused silence as Hugo wakes Xiuhao up and brings him over.

Xiuhao rushes over, clearly knowing that Christopher is awake, and stands at the end of the bed. Hugo sitting on the side opposite from me again.

“Hi Christopher, I’m Xiuhao. How are you feeling?”

“Better than I thought, what day is it?”

Xiuhao states it, and the time- which turns out to be 2 AM. Christopher’s eyes light up.

“How did you manage that?! You must have performed some kind of miracle; did you see the height I fell from? Shit, you must be powerful.” Christopher exclaims.

“That’s Mandarin spells for you!” Xiuhao chuckles in response, Christopher looking at him in awe.

I hear the two of them making small talk in the back of my conscience as I feel reality set in.

_So this is real._

**HUGO:**

Xiuhao looks at Lucy and I, “I think it’d be best if you let your friend get some rest. He’s still naturally healing.”

I look over at Chris- I don’t want to leave him but his expression is telling me to follow Xiuhao’s orders. So I slowly get up and make my way over back to my bed.

I lie back in blank thought: what exactly am I? The fuck does Christopher mean by ‘different’? The covers suddenly feel stuck to my skin, weighing me down from wanting to get up and bolt it out of here and pretend I didn’t hear that- I can empathise with Lucy now. But I can’t. I have to stay for Christopher and Lucy. I have to know that Christopher is safe.

After a couple of hours, the sun is beaming through the arched windows, blinding as it reflects off the white walls. It’s like I blinked and suddenly it’s morning. I can’t tell if I slept, but I can feel a tired haze surrounding my head and chest, my cheeks flushed and warm, so I haven’t rested all that well. I rub my eyes of sleep and lean up to see Christopher and Xiuhao having a hushed discussion; Xiuhao looks like his eyes are going to pop out of his head. I feel a pang in my chest seeing them get on so well, but it’s probably because I’ve never seen Christopher with anyone else but Lucy.

Christopher sees I’m awake and shoots me a calm smile, “Morning Hugo,” He whispers- Lucy must be asleep. I feel another pang in my chest, I’m not sure why this time.

“Mornin’” I croak back, swinging my legs over the side of the bed to hop off.

I pad over to Christopher’s bed and sit on the edge that Xiuhao isn’t on.

“How are you feeling?” I ask Chris.

“He’s almost fully physically healed now thanks to my magic” Xiuhao speaks up instead.

I ignore him and stay waiting for a response from Christopher. I asked _him_ after all.

“I’m feeling miles better thanks to Hao’s incredible skill. Because he can speak mandarin, he has a whole bank of insane healing spells.” He replies and I swear Xiuhao _blushes. _He’s already got a nickname for him?

“Oh, that’s good. I’m glad.” I reply, the pang persists.

“So, when are you planning on telling them?” Xiuhao seems to continue their conversation. I suddenly feel sick remembering last night.

“Soon. I can’t afford to keep this from them now that they know this. As soon as Lucy taps into her powers they’ll be able to track her down, and I don’t know how much hiding and shielding it’ll take before I’m busted by either the Empire or the dark mages. Plus, by the looks of things, Lucy seems to have used her powers unconsciously to protect herself from the fall.” Christopher replies, shooting me an apologetic look.

“What are you telling us?” More importantly, what _isn’t _he telling us? I can’t deal with the secrecy anymore. I feel like my head will burst with the number of questions I have.

“When Lucy wakes up, I’ve decided to explain everything to you two. You don’t deserve to have this information kept from you.”

“There’s definitely no way they can know if you tell them this information?” Xiuhao asks.

“No, I took my tracker and recorder off a long while ago when I met Hugo. I wasn’t allowed to make friends with others, but I just didn’t think it was natural to force Lucy to have no other friends. Plus he was way too stubborn.”

“Hey!” I playfully hit Chris on the leg, but he winces since I forgot he’s still injured, “Oh shit I’m sorry.” I reply and rub the spot I hit.

We hear a shuffling come from the side of Christopher’s bed and we all snap to look over and see Lucy waking up.

“You may want to get comfy for this.”

I prepare myself for quite literally anything.

“Hugo, Christopher, Xiuhao. what’s this?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been so long again im SO sorry :'(  
this chapter was kinda short but i hope you guys liked it the same!
> 
> love u all <33 i promise to keep uploading


	4. Chapter 4

**CHRISTOPHER**

That day has never escaped me until this very moment.

It was around the equivalent of around five Earth years ago when I was on Ketera, the farthest planet in the Aurum system. I was undergoing a solo mission, just some mandatory background checks as set by the new leader of the Golden Empire- Amir. Amir was only appointed a couple of weeks before I was sent out, I’d never left the Empire until he came into power- Vidalia was too fond of me. Vidalia being imprisoned and overthrown by Amir for having a child she was forbidden to have was still fresh on my mind: the fate of the entire system was thrown into the unknown as she was the power source- like the sun in the Earth’s solar system, Vidalia’s power was the centre of the Aurum system, except the six planets orbiting the Empire got streams of her power which made each one uniquely habitable.

Ketera was a simple planet, a lot of the lower-class citizens of the system lived there, but Vidalia made sure life here was just as peaceful in its own way. Of course the disruption of Vidalia’s overthrowing caused some confusion, so I was there to spread some messages (propaganda) regarding the future of the empire (they were all untrue, my future vision was incredibly clouded by then).

I was ushering a group of Keterans back to their house after an ugly standoff with them complaining about Amir’s harsh imprisonment of Vidalia. I wanted to agree: her power was still being harvested the exact same, for then, the system was safe and didn’t seem to be in any immediate danger, her power was still thriving, so why did Amir feel the need to lock her up? It wasn’t a great shock that this was the length Amir wanted to go to: he was her direct opposition for years, he had many supporters and after Vidalia’s forbidden son was discovered, there was an outcry, and it was said that she was forced into hiding and giving the leadership to Amir. The details were, of course, kept secret- anyone that supported Amir knew that he did anything to keep his reputation clean. But I had to keep my mouth shut. After telling them the countless stories I was asked to feed these poor villagers I saw a shimmering figure in the distance, in the alleyway next to these Keterans’ house.

I got a proper glance at the figure: they were wearing a floor-length cloak, white, embellished with jewels and golden embroidery in the shape of the royal crest. It was an Order: higher up clairvoyants, just above us Oracles. I immediately saluted and bowed at the realisation- I couldn’t think of a possible reason for the visit so I quickly greeted the Order and listened eagerly.

“Direct orders from Amir, a Golden has gone missing, we last saw a shuttle take off towards the Milky Way galaxy. We believe the person concerned has been kidnapped and Amir has trusted you to look for them.”

I paused, dumbfounded. A Golden? Goldens were pretty much the next step down in power from Vidalia herself: their power was rare- Goldens could use their power however they liked unlike everyone else who had specific categories of power such as clairvoyance, healing, combat, etc. It is said they are direct descendants of the people who first evolved to take in Vidalia’s power and tap into it; when Vidalia’s power was the most strong and concentrated (when the population increased, she had to channel her power into categories to give everyone a share of her power without burning herself out). Others say the current Goldens were appointed by chance, or Vidalia appoints them at random at the beginning of each zodiac period. I was always curious about how they came about but never really asked. Through my royal training, all I was taught was to respect them greatly. However, I’d never been even in the presence of one, as they were always out exploring galaxies far out from the Aurum system, on missions of creating relations and discovering places all over the universe. I’d only ever heard of them in the news bulletins when they discovered a new planet or space monument.

I remember my heart jumping out of my throat. I’d never left the system. Let alone travel to a whole different galaxy, now they want me to do this AND search after a missing Golden?

“Why me? Your excellence, I’ve never left the system before, I have no clue how to work the hyper-speed shuttles. Forgive me but you must have the wrong Oracle.”

“You’re Oracle 3 correct?” I hated the number system, Vidalia gave us each names, but Amir couldn’t stand us having any kind of personality since we ‘lived to serve him’ now.

“Yes, your excellency.”

The Order looked around under their hood. Oddly as if they were trying to stay hidden from something. I brushed it off: Orders very rarely left the Empire so they were probably taking in the new surroundings.

“Then I am certain. Christopher.” The Order takes their hood off- I immediately recognise them: It was Emelio, Vidalia’s former personal bodyguard. I knew immediately from the glow about their skin- they spent so much time in Vidalia’s presence, her glow from her power sort of rubbed off on them. But it was faded, they didn’t have the same brightness as before.

“Emelio-”

“Shush, my name holds power. I’m practically a celebrity around here. But these orders are urgent, I can set up a shuttle with autopilot to the Milky-Way station, so there’s no need for you to be able to fly. I can’t tell you anything else, but these orders are vital. As time passes you will soon find out why.” Then they _winked._

With this information I felt something come up in my future vision- a girl with a head of blonde, curly, shoulder-length hair, left on a roadside, lying but not dead, she seemed content, as if she was just asleep- and she was _glowing_. I felt a complete lurch in my stomach, almost a tugging towards the shuttle station. With the uncertainty back then, I had no choice to accept the order given to me: it was the first certain sight in my future I had in a long time; it just felt right. And I trusted Emelio.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

Emelio pulled their hood back over their head, grabbed my hand and ran.

We didn’t slow down until we reached the shuttle port on Ketera, conveniently my shuttle was in the first port.

“Holy shit Emelio is it really that important?” I panted: I wasn’t physically fit whatsoever since I never usually left Vidalia’s palace.

It dawned on me soon that I just cursed at an Order, so I straightened myself up and apologised immediately: “I’m sorry your excellence. I will obey these orders as you wish.”

“Hey, I understand. This order was out of nowhere. But trust me, we need to act fast.” Emelio was always one of the most considerate out of the Orders- perhaps that’s why Vidalia was so attached.

I saw the image in my future sight again- I powerwalked to the shuttle.

“So, what do I need to do?”

“The autopilot should already be activated. Since the suspected abductor took off from this system, we were able to keep track of where the ship is headed, the main screen should show the ship’s location. When you reach the Milky Way, tell us what system and what planet the ship is headed.” Emelio instructs.

“Okay.” We stood there in silence: the unknown air between us was thick.

“Good luck Christopher. We’ll give you more directions once things are more certain.” Emelio pats my back and I climbed into the spacecraft.

\---

“Okay, Christopher do you copy?”

“I copy, Emelio, so what now?”

“By now you should be at the Milky Way and you’ve left hyper-speed correct?”

“Yep,” I remember how hyper-speed made my adrenaline kick in and the way it made my hands go tingly. I hated it.

“Open your map,” I waved my hand to bring it up in front of me, “you should see the tracker point, zoom it and tell me where it’s headed.”

I did just that, zooming in and reporting each location as I saw it:

“Orion arm, Sol System, heading towards the bottom right of the Ceres belt…”

I paused. My heart began to pound against my chest.

“Earth.”

Radio silence. But my thoughts were far from it: The people of the Aurum system never held such hatred for a planet like they did with Earth. Even I considered turning my shuttle back around and flying it back to the Empire at that moment. It was riddled with Impures: those magickal and human, due to a traveller from years back breaking a traditional Golden Rule – never fall in love with a non-mage. Since then it had become a dumping ground for any person of the Aurum system to break Golden Rule. It was also used as a banishing ground for those practicing dark magic or those who had their magic cursed as punishment, so they don’t ‘taint’ the system.

Looking back, I feel like that was one of the few flaws in Vidalia’s leadership.

But then, I felt sick. All I ever knew was hatred of that place, so I felt the same. Because everyone else felt the same.

After some time, I heard Emelio sigh down the radio: “I’m sorry, Christopher. But you need to go down there.”

I see the vision once again, but the girl is gone, a golden silhouette in her place where she was laying in the grass. I reluctantly decided to take the order.

“Okay. What do I do now?”

“We’ll set up autopilot to follow the tracked shuttle. However since this area is relatively unexplored by our ships, the autopilot is very simple so you may need to use some manual features such as steering. Don’t fret too much, the controls are simple, just like an inter-planet car back in Aurum.”

I’d only ever driven them a select few times, the last being when I was visiting Ketera.

My vision was the only thing driving me to keep pursuing this mission by then: it was so clear.

Before I could reply my rockets were back on, and I was travelling towards the Ceres belt at a considerable speed. Dodging the space rocks and debris (humans sure didn’t know how to clean up after themselves) was something I’d never experienced; I didn’t know how to manoeuvre a craft so drastically. I managed to make it through the majority of the rocks, I remember thinking it was all over until a huge black spot came hurling into my peripheral vision. It was too late to move so I simply froze and braced for impact, the next thing I remember was the emergency thrusters activating, propelling me forward straight to earth without slowing. Parts of my aircraft flung off as I entered Earth’s atmosphere.

I remember heat. Then impact.

I woke up in a field, rain pouring from the sky, the drops sizzling on my scorched aircraft. Luckily I could still stay in contact with Emelio through an earpiece.

“Emelio,” I croak, “You copy?”

“Yes, Christopher,” They sounded puzzled, also kind of defeated, “We’re going to have to keep you on Earth.”

A long pause persisted yet again. I sat in complete puzzlement, dazed. The rain spat on my windshield.

“Amir has considered your circumstances and has decided it best for you to stay on Earth. It’s too dangerous for us to try and get you and the person back now your aircraft is totalled. We’ll send you more information in due course, for now, just look for the Golden.” And that was where I was left alone.

In the space of a few hours, I was suddenly in a barren space on a new planet- that just happened to be the most hated planet in Aurum. It was dark and cold, I feared leaving my spacecraft as I knew my legs were badly injured. I recall drifting in and out of consciousness, crying whenever I was awake. And every time I tried to question why the fuck I even took on this mission, the vision came back, making me even more conflicted; making me want to stay.

I was flicking in and out of consciousness for what must have been hours, as I remember the sun rising when I heard Emelio down my ear:

“We’ve cloaked your spacecraft as a crashed car. The human healthcare services should be on their way and will be able to take care of your wounds since their planet is carbon-based like the Empire. We expect you look for the Golden immediately after your full recovery.”

“But-” Emelio’s radio was already disconnected, and I had no strength to speak.

The last thing I remember before fully passing out was the sound of unfamiliar, loud, high-pitched sirens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally !! a quicker update lol
> 
> i hope yall enjoyed a beefier chapter with more backstory. 
> 
> this one was particularly challenging to write plot-wise so if you have any questions that you feel are important to include in the plot please ask them and I'll make sure to include them in coming chapters.
> 
> thank you all for reading ! <3


	5. Chapter 5

**LUCY**

“So, what happened then?” I ask. Christopher is almost flinching as if his story is over and is expecting a bombardment of questions- sure, I have a lot, but I want to hear about what happened after.

“I coincidentally woke up in a hospital bed, right next to you. There were no nurses about, I assumed it was the same night as the crash. I had a gown on, but my uniform was left in a draw to my left, so I managed to get my communication gear from my pockets. Once I’d equipped it I heard Emelio again, they told me I needed to wipe your memory and distort it into believing you had a human life.”

“Why?”

“I’m not sure. At the time it made sense- they didn’t want anyone so powerful on Earth. They didn’t know what could happen if a Golden managed to get to Earth, since they usually only banished low-life, regular mages, with the belief that they would be so far from Aurum here, their magic would wear off. Emelio told me it was out of fear of a magickal community thriving on this planet. But now, meeting you, Xiuhao, and seeing various other magicians here on this planet thriving with the same power as those within Aurum, I’m struggling to figure out why.”

Christopher sighed, “After I saw my first mage here, I was so angry.” He begins to well up, “For my whole life I’d thought Earth was a horrible place, but after seeing how mages who had been banished here actually maintaining such a simple and beautiful planet, and how they’d integrated themselves as a part of the life here made me question almost everything I thought I knew.”

I reach over to hold Christopher’s hand- I can _feel_ his pain. As soon as we touched I felt my heart sink with his.

“It’s okay, keep going.” I can tell he wants to keep speaking.

Christopher quickly wipes his tears and his expression of uncertainty changes to a straight stern face, “I was still receiving instructions from various Orders throughout that year. It wasn’t until you’d introduced me to Hugo, your new friend in year 7, and how well I saw you getting on with him at school, that I decided to destroy my communication gear. The Orders had told me to keep you away from any other contact, since they told me humans were ‘dangerous and not to be trusted’, but fully experiencing how most humans interacted with one and other, I considered it complete bullshit. Especially since I was supposed to be convincing you that you were human. But I guess now, five years later, here we are.”

There was a long period of silence. I assumed everyone had a huge bank of questions swirling their heads right now like me- but I was too overwhelmed to ask any.

Hugo broke the silence first: “So there’s no sun where you’re from?” Typical Hugo, trying to change the subject and lighten the mood.

Christopher laughs breathily and responds: “No, our power source is Vidalia, she’s like one giant woman full of golden light. It’s said as she grew, she created each of the six planets one-by-one.”

“Woahh,” Hugo replies.

Another- happier- silence persists for a small while until I think of a question I want to ask:

“So how many of my memories are… real?” I ask

“Well, you’re really seventeen, I checked your age during the memory wipe. Plus your name is really Lucy Achebe. But other than that I don’t know. Your “parents” that “died” don’t exist; I took you to the orphanage after the hospital trip. ” Christopher replied.

I stay silent, I still can’t fathom how I grew up in a completely different galaxy to here.

“Wait so, how old are you then?” Hugo puzzles.

“In Earth years, the same as you already know. However, up there, magickal growth persists after it reaches its maximum. Our physical appearance also stops at that point, and thanks to the healers up there we can stay without illness for relatively long periods.”

“So, you’re immortal?” I ask.

“Not quite, there are still deadly illnesses up there that require tricky spells which can cause people to die. We aren’t immune to everything.”

“How do you know when you reach your maximum?”

“You get your rune. For me, it’s the eye on my chest. I got mine when I turned 18 in Earth years so I could easily pass it off as a tattoo thank goodness. But it differs depending on your ability. It can take several years for a healer to get their rune.” At this, Xiuhao looks slightly dejected.

Silence again; I want to change the subject.

“Here on Earth, you said there were magicians everywhere?”

“Of course, in the first few years of looking after you, I had to make sure you weren’t exposed to magic. Although I didn’t have my communication gear anymore, I was worried that if you knew you’d get angry and go Dark. Which would have been especially bad considering your power. If you went Dark, it could’ve meant that in the future- I don’t even know. But yeah they’re here and in places you may not even expect.”

“Like what?”

“Plenty of the milder Dark mages exist in forces like the police, even some politicians. Hao also told me that some talented surgeons, and even the nurses employed here are healers. They’re everywhere. Most magic is masked so humans see it manifest as something ‘normal’, but some powerful spells can burn a human’s eyes. Xiuhao really took a gamble healing me in front of you two, but you both saw.”

Hugo and I look at each other.

I sit there contemplating for a while, trying to remember a time I could have encountered magic, but I really can’t fathom it. Christopher did a good job of keeping that hidden from me.

My mind is clouded now, too many questions have just turned into a messy haze, giving me a headache.

It seems I have a lot of catching up to do.

**XIUHAO**

It seems as though the questions have died down, so I decide to ask some of my own:

“So, Christopher, how did you know about your powers before you got your rune?”

“Same way as you, the way you grow up there and develop your personality determines your specific powers. Once you figure them out, you get your position or ‘role’ in the system to hone in your skills- the more powerful, the closer to the Golden Empire you’ll be.”

“So you’re practically royalty up there?” I ask in awe.

“Well, technically Vidalia was the only royalty up there, but I was sort of, her guard I guess. But there were still people higher up than me I barely knew.”

“Where do the healers go?”

“The planet nearest the Empire- Geina. They’re one of the most prestigious groups of planet mages up there.”

I feel myself grin: to imagine my powers are so highly appreciated made me feel like I should be there. But I quickly remember how they hated Earth. I’d be a disgrace.

I decide to change the subject: “So, they believe our power on Earth wears out?”

Christopher sighs and furrows his eyebrows, “Yeah. But they were wrong. The last mage they banished here was over 20 years ago yet Earth is teeming with mages today. Whatever they, or I, knew about magic was wrong.”

“But what if there are other magickal solar systems and galaxies? Maybe their magic is different.” Hugo pipes up. He has a good point.

“There are other magickal galaxies, but I know Aurum magic when I see it. Plus it's likely I won’t be able to as easily or at all sense magic from other areas of the universe.”

“Ah,” Hugo replies.

A small silence persists again before Lucy seems to snap out of her confused trance.

“So what now?” She asks, plainly.

“We learn about magic on Earth. Since there’s still a lot we clearly don’t know about it.” Christopher states.

“Hey, I could teach you what I know, if you don’t mind,” I suggest.

“That would be really helpful. Thank you Xiuhao.” Christopher smiled thankfully at me; my cheeks warm up- he’s been the only person to be welcoming of my help over the past day.

However, Lucy seems more welcoming of my help now: her facial expression neutral, simply agreeing with Christopher. Hugo seems okay with my offer to help too. I let out a mental sigh of relief.

“So, when do you want to start?” I ask I don’t want to overwhelm them even more.

“Later,” Lucy replies bluntly, “I need food.” Everyone else agrees quietly- they’re all quite stunned, rightfully so.

“I understand. Come on, lets find the nearest food place.” I say as kind as I possibly can, although it probably won’t be the most comforting from a stranger they still barely know.

To my surprise, everyone complies. No one bothers changing since they slept in their clothes from yesterday, and we all head to the door. Hugo helping Christopher stay upright, the latter’s arm around Hugo’s shoulder.

There are various restaurants and food trucks dotted around the park, each selling pretty much the same menu of greasy foods. I never usually eat from there since I always break out after even a nibble of a burger, plus I try to keep my diet as meat-free as possible since it’s bad for the environment. However, after last night I’m fucking ravenous: I hadn’t used so much magic in quite some time.

A few metres from the infirmary there’s a food truck- one of the smaller and older ones at the park. I suggest walking a little further to one of the restaurants so we can sit down, but they all groan in protest- including Christopher. I don’t bother arguing despite Christopher’s condition- we’re all starving.

The food truck is left unlocked- unsurprising since everyone was evacuated yesterday. (I still think it was a bit of a drastic measure to clear the entire park after one accident but knowing what I’ve got myself into, perhaps it was for the best.)

We all squish inside the van and make sure the stoves are turned on before looking in the fridges. Surprisingly, there was still a lot of food left in them: bacon, burgers, even veggie burgers which made me feel a lot better.

It’s still really quiet: we’re all mulling over so many weird and confusing thoughts, but we’re all too tired to think of solutions- at least that’s how I feel.

Christopher’s sat on a small part of the counter that isn’t the hob- per my request as he’s probably still recovering. Hugo’s cooking, and Lucy and I are just standing across from each other, contemplating what to do.

An awkward stretch of silence persists until Lucy clears her throat.

“Hey, uh I’m sorry about before…” she pauses, picking at her fingers, “thank you, for your help with Christopher and I.” She mumbles out.

I grin at her, “It’s no problem!” I feel some remorse myself, “It must be weird being exposed to this all of a sudden. I took a big risk that I probably shouldn’t by casting those big spells in front of you. So, I’m sorry too.”

“So we’re even?” Lucy jeers playfully.

I giggle, “Yeah.”

As Hugo’s cooking, Lucy keeps asking Christopher heaps of smaller questions about her abilities. I only tune in to one of their exchanges:

“So, you said my hair was golden, but it’s black? Also, does my golden eye have something to do with this?” She asks.

“Your eye is part of your identification, every Golden has one.”

“So like, my rune?”

“Not quite, you had your eye from birth, your rune is your hair. It’ll turn golden once you tap into the full potential of your power.”

“Oh my God, so you’re telling me my hair’s just gonna magically turn blonde?” Lucy replies excitedly

“Not blonde, gold. Your hair will literally be a whole afro of gold.” Christopher replies with a giddy smile.

Lucy looks at Christopher wide-eyed, awestruck. She seems to be curious rather than scared of her abilities now.

We’re all devouring our “breakfast” until Hugo suddenly begins choking on his bacon roll.

“You good?” Christopher asks.

Hugo nods as he slows down his coughing and shows his phone screen that he’d been scrolling through pretty much all morning.

Christopher tales the phone from him to read it and gasps.

“What’s up?” I query.

There’s a few seconds of odd silence before Christopher’s puts his hand to his mouth.

“Hundreds of people have gone missing in the area since yesterday evening.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ty readers!! sorry for the slightly late update again.
> 
> as always, kudos n comments r always welcome !! <33

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading!! 
> 
> there'll likely be some changes made on the way as this is still ongoing so please be patient with posting <3
> 
> constructive criticism is definitely welcomed since this is my first ever original work!  
kudos n comments are also v welcome <33


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